Posted: Jan 17, 2025 1:04 AM EST | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago SpaceX's mega rocket Starship launches for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on Thursday. (Eric Gay/The Associated Press) Social Sharing A SpaceX Starship rocket broke up in space minutes after launching from Texas on Thursday, forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course to avoid falling debris and setting back Elon Musk's flagship rocket program. SpaceX mission control lost contact with the newly upgraded Starship, carrying its first test payload of mock satellites but no crew, eight minutes after liftoff from its South Texas rocket facilities at 5:38 p.m. ET. Video shot by Reuters showed orange balls of light streaking across the sky over the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, leaving trails of smoke behind. "We did lose all communications with the ship — that is essentially telling us we had an anomaly with the upper stage," SpaceX Communications Manager Dan Huot said, confirming minutes later that the ship was lost. Elon Musk launches Starship test flight with Donald Trump watching